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Winter moisture: Snowpack is high, precip. sitting just above average for year ■ Continued from page 6 By Feb. 24, the level of precipitation for the water year rose to 2.67 inches, compared to the normal level of 1.98 inches. While long-range forecasts for weather in this region this year were inconclusive — Weather Service and Weather Channel both said the chance of having a wetter or drier and warmer or colder winter were about even — in the short range, Weather Service predicted a slight chance of snow through last weekend, again with colder temperatures. The Weather Channel also expected a slight chance of snow over the weekend, with another shot later this week. AccuWeather also expected some precipitation last weekend and this week, predicting, along with The Weather Channel, a warming trend late this week. AccuWeather further predicted highs back into the 50s by the second week of March.
Snowpack is high, streamflows expected to mirror that The levels of snowpack in the region, and much of the state, also bodes well for streamflows and irrigators, if the snowmelt occurs at normal rates and levels. A Feb. 25 NRCS report shows reporting sites in Montana recording levels of snow-
pack ranging from 90 percent to 110 percent of normal up to 125 percent to 150 percent of normal in some areas. The reservoirs in the Milk River Project that supplies water to irrigators — and some communities — in the Milk River Valley also were above normal levels last month. Lake Sherburne at the start of the St. Mary Diversion in the Rocky Mountains on Feb. 25 was 49 percent full at 33,677 acre feet of water. The 30-year average on that date is 30,104 acre feet. Sherburne stores water that is diverted through a series of dams, canals and siphons into the Milk River, providing about half of the water in the Milk in normal years and more than 90 percent in some drought years. Fresno Reservoir west of Havre, a flood control and irrigation storage facility of the Milk River Project, was 61 percent full Feb. 21 with 56,176 acre feet of water. The 30-year average for that date is 35,308 acre feet.
What will spring bring But a major question remains: What will the rest of the year see? In the last few years, late spring storms have dumped precipitation in north-central Montana, and brought flood disaster in three of four years — 2010, 2011 and 2013. In the fall of 2012, parts of the state espe-
cially along the southern tier were in drought or near drought conditions. Precipitation improved the water levels in some areas, but by spring, some regions were again starting to dry out. Conditions were better on the northern tier from the Golden Triangle east, although precipitation also was dropping off later in the winter. For Havre, the reporting station at the airport, recorded 2.73 inches of rain by May 1, nearly three-quarters of an inch above the norm for that day. Then the downpours hit. By June 1, Weather Service recorded nearly 5 inches more precipitation at the airport, bringing the year’s total to 7.32 inches. That compares to a total on that date of 6.81 inches in 2012, and nearly double the norm for that date of 3.8 inches. By June 25, the airport — which appar-
ently missed a half-inch of rain the night before — station reported 11.21 inches for the year, compared with 8.33 inches in 2012 and more than double the norm of 5.43 inches. By that day, the airport station had received its entire year’s worth of normal precipitation, 11.19 inches. From May 15 through the first week of June, Beaver Creek Park received more than a foot of rain — 13.5 inches. While the downpour brought devastation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency back to the area, farmers over the summer said it also helped with crops. T h e N a t i o n a l O c e a n o g ra p h i c a n d Atmospheric Administration’s long-range forecasts, linked to the U.S. Drought Monitor, predicts about normal precipitation and temperatures for Montana from March through June.
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“Despite the dominating dry spell, snowp a c k f i g u r e s o n l y s h owe d a s l i g h t decrease,” said Brian Domonkos, NRCS water supply specialist for Montana. “Montana is seeing its best snowpack since 2011 and the fourth-best snowpack of the last 10 years.”
Near-record precipitation — and flood disasters That follows a nearly record year for precipitation in the area, with the Havre reporting station for National Weather Service recording its third-highest annual precipitation since the recordkeeping started in 1880. Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2013, the reporting station at the City-County Airport west of Havre recorded 19.16 inches of rain in a year that, once again, included a presidential disaster declaration for the region due to flooding in the spring. Flooding in 2010 and 2011 also led to disaster declarations for the region. The second-highest year of moisture in Havre saw 20.69 inches in 1916 while the record was in 1884 with 25.67 inches of rain, Weather Service reports. And the recent high levels were spread throughout the region last year. Chinook saw 19.55 inches of precipitation in 2013, just an inch short of its record amount of 21.55 inches in 1927 — also the first year of records for the community.
■ Continued on page 6
A stubble field south of Havre holds a dusting of snow in its rows Tuesday afternoon.
Havre Daily News/Lindsay Brown